Taken from:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/146955/G...aan-nuke-plant


Greenpeace blasts House bill on revival of Bataan nuke plant
02/02/2009 | 02:15 PM


QUEZON CITY, Philippines - Greenpeace exposed Monday that the House Bill proposing to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is part of an alleged sneaky and underhanded attempt to railroad the establishment of a national commercial nuclear power program in the Philippines.

According to Greenpeace, the costs outlined in a bill filed by Rep. Mark Cojuangco and signed by 130 representatives are not merely for the rehabilitation and commissioning of the BNPP, but include appropriations that effectively lay the foundation for a complete nuclear program.

Greenpeace presented its argument at the bill's hearing of the House committee on appropriations as more than 30 volunteers planted an 8-foot tall tombstone with the words "R.I.P. BNPP" at the entrance of the House of Representatives compound in Batasan Hills.

The activity was meant to send a message to lawmakers not to revive the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and not to pursue the path of nuclear power, which Greenpeace contends is grotesquely expensive and based on faulty economics.

"Greenpeace is calling for an end to the farce that is House Bill 4631. This is not a bill that seeks the revival of the BNPP alone, but a bill that seeks to create the country's nuclear power program," it said.

Greenpeace has been protesting the bill, which seeks to immediately allocate fund for BNPP's rehabilitation and the framework within which nuclear power will operate in the country. Based on the bill, these costs will be shouldered by Filipino taxpayers.

The bill hurdled the energy committee last mid-January despite strong opposition by green groups and the Catholic Church.

"The overwhelming safety and security reasons behind why the BNPP was mothballed remain just as valid and unassailable today. Our lawmakers should heed reason and let the BNPP rest in peace," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy campaigner Amalie Obusan. -